County helps after Vinton fire

VINTON - Benton County is doing its part to help the Vinton businesses to recover from the Feb. 8 fire that leveled four area businesses.

The Benton County Board of Supervisors met with two of those businesses at their meeting on Tuesday, Feb. 13, in Vinton.

Ever since the fire in downtown Vinton, Benton County has opened up the former Department of Human Services building for area businesses who were forced to leave.

Robert Fischer of the Fischer Law Office thanked the board for allowing their office to move into the old DHS office. He observed, “This has been the most horrible thing that I can imagine for anybody’s business. It’s a terrible tragedy for the community. It’s a terrible tragedy for us. But you know, we’re making a go of it.”

Fischer observed he was able rescue his chair out of the old office. “I feel right at home right now.” He added, “You’ve got to play with the deck you’re handed, and that’s what we I’ve got right now.”

He stressed he was grateful to the county. Benton County Title is also using the old DHS building. They also were at the meeting.

Fischer said it will all take time. They are looking at what to do with their current building. He expects they might need that building for a year or a year and a half. He’d also like to do some things for the office, such as carpet and signage.

A structural engineer was to look at the Fischer and Title buildings on Wednesday, Feb. 14. The two buildings share a common wall. The neighboring Clingmann Pharmacy and Michael and Dowd have been torn down.

There was discussion on what to do with the utility bills, rent, upgrades, leases and insurance.

“We knew that you guys would make things right,” said Supervisor Chairman Rick Primmer of the two firms in the building.

They hope to work out an agreement in 30 days. The building has been vacant for over a year, with Primmer adding no one has been “knocking down the door” to buy it.

The board approved having the two businesses to do cosmetic changes to the building.

Iowa Roadside Vegetation Management (IRVM)

Benton Bonar, weed commissioner, explained the IRVM program to the board in his annual report. A big project was on the “high road” right of way near Wendling Quarry and Milroy’s Access. He hopes to use it as a demonstration site for the program. They will continue to work on prairie re-construction south of Atkins and management on Oak Grove project.

Budget work

Budgets for relief, mental health and disability, and conservation were reviewed for next fiscal year. The budget runs from July 1, 2018, to June 30, 2019. A hearing on the proposed budget is set for March. Carol Zander met with the board for relief, mental health and disability.

Zander also explained a new application to help those who have mental health concerns.

Karen Phelps presented information for Benton County Conservation. The supervisors have been working with the conservation board on the budget. Phelps reported on budgeting for the purchase of wetlands. She has been working with Pheasants Forever on this, as well as the National Resources Conservation Service (NRCS).

Randy Scheel of the conservation board explained they looked at the salaries for conservation in other counties. They found that Benton County was lower than the average for surrounding counties. The conservation board wanted to make sure they recognized their staff. They looked at ways to reduce other areas or the budget in order to bring the salaries of several members of the staff to an area that was more in tune with were they should be.

This was also discussed at the conservation board meeting held the night before.

Supervisor Todd Wiley explained they have looked at where salaries are compared to counties that 24th to 28th in the state. Phelps’ salary is 52nd in the state. Some of the rangers are ranked 90th in pay. It is also low compared to counties similar in population size to Benton County. They also want to be competitive with salaries offered in neighboring Linn, Black Hawk and Johnson Counties.

When it comes to proposed increases, Phelps stressed, “Our staff is worth every cent of that. They work well together and they have a great sense of pride in what they are doing. I would like to keep every single person on that staff.” She added they are working with the budget to get money to areas that is needed.

Supervisor Gary Bierschenk questioned some of the budget areas, such as paving, boating and supplies, and the phone budget. Phelps explained the phone budget is not just for cell phones, but for land lines and the internet. Bierschenk felt there were ways to pay less for cell phones, and it’s something they are working on throughout the county.

Middle Cedar

An engineering contract was approved for the Middle Cedar Watershed Management Association. Benton County is the fiscal agent for the multi-county agency. The engineeering firm, WHKS and Co., will work on the design of the wetland projects. The program is designed to prevent flooding along the Middle Cedar River. Adam Rodenberg of the Middle Cedar said that there are some projects that are ready. Supervisor Todd Wiley is the chairman of the Middle Cedar. Two firms applied for this.

Engineer

Engineer Myron Parizek received approval to work on an agreement to replace a bridge west of Mount Auburn on D-65 over Spring Creek. He is working to get federal aid to put in a twin box culvert. He is working on an agreement with the Iowa Department of Transportation. Parizek said there is a lot of agricultural traffic the that road.